Wilmington goes back ‘Under the Dome’ as season two production starts

As of today, Wilmington is back “Under the Dome,” as production has begun on the series’ second season.

Author Stephen King, whose novel is the basis for the CBS series, marked the occasion yesterday on his Twitter account, tweeting: “The 2nd season of UNDER THE DOME starts production tomorrow. I’m pretty stoked.”

King, who serves as an executive producer on the show, is returning to write the season’s first episode, as he did with the pilot that kicked off the series.

Filmed over several months last year in locations that included Burgaw and Southport, “Under the Dome” proved a high ratings draw for CBS last summer, prompting the network to announce the show would return this summer with a similar slate of 13 episodes.

Production for those episodes started today, and filming is set to return to Burgaw and Southport, among other locations in and around the Port City.

The series stars an ensemble cast, including Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad” fame, and Natalie Martinez, who has also been cast in the pilot for the likewise locally filmed “Secrets & Lies,” an ABC pilot that started production last week. (Related story)

Last year, the City of Wilmington marked the end of production for the first season with a declaration of “Dome Day” and presented King with a ceremonial key to the city. The celebrations coincided with a red carpet premiere held at Thalian Hall.

A lot of things that work well in a novel don’t necessarily work so well on screen. I also read that some plot elements were altered to make the story longer than the several days or so over which the events of the book play out. Look at it like this: you get a neat adaptation of a pretty good book, with new surprises thrown in. You might think you know what happens, but…do you REALLY?